23

For several long seconds, no one spoke.

Ranger stood in the middle of the trail, chest heaving, his golden coat damp with sweat and bits of leaves clinging to his fur.

He barked once.

Twice.

Then trotted a few steps into the darkness before looking back over his shoulder.

It was obvious.

He wanted them to follow.

Sheriff Reeves knelt beside the old retriever, running careful hands over his shoulders and legs.

"No blood."

One of the firefighters let out a relieved sigh.

"He looks okay."

Kael wasn't convinced.

He crouched beside the dog.

"Easy, buddy."

Ranger immediately stopped barking.

Instead, he pressed against Kael's leg, whining softly.

The dog's entire body trembled.

Kael gently examined the broken collar.

It hadn't been cut.

It hadn't worn out.

It had been snapped apart by tremendous force.

He looked into the forest again.

Something powerful had grabbed this dog...

...and then let him go.

That didn't make sense.

---

"What do you think happened?" Sheriff Reeves asked quietly.

Kael slowly stood.

"I don't know."

It wasn't entirely true.

He had a theory.

But there was no evidence.

Not yet.

Ranger barked again and bounded a short distance down the trail.

Then stopped.

Looked back.

Waited.

Ben shifted nervously.

"Should we follow him?"

Kael studied the darkness.

The scent he'd caught earlier lingered faintly.

Human.

Smoke.

Blood.

But now there was something else.

Another scent.

Ancient.

Wild.

One he hadn't encountered in years.

It was almost gone before he could identify it.

He frowned.

"What is it?" Noah asked.

Kael shook his head.

"I'm not sure."

For the first time in a very long while...

That answer bothered him.

---

Back at Crescent Lake...

The bonfire continued burning brightly.

Parents tried distracting their children with roasted marshmallows and stories.

The musicians quietly packed away their instruments.

The festive mood had faded.

Everyone waited.

Emily sat beside Margaret on a fallen log near the edge of the crowd.

She kept looking toward the trees.

"They've been gone a long time."

Margaret nodded.

"They'll come back."

"You sound certain."

"I am."

Emily smiled faintly.

"I wish I felt that confident."

Margaret looked into the fire.

"Sometimes confidence comes from experience."

"And sometimes..."

She looked toward the dark forest.

"...it comes from faith."

Emily followed her gaze.

"Do you know Kael well?"

Margaret chuckled softly.

"I've known him since the day he was born."

Emily looked surprised.

"Really?"

"He used to come into my bookstore every Saturday."

"What kind of books did he read?"

Margaret smiled at the memory.

"Everything."

"Adventure."

"History."

"Wildlife."

"Myths."

"He always left carrying more books than he could comfortably hold."

Emily laughed.

"I can picture that."

"He was a very serious little boy."

"He still is."

Margaret's eyes twinkled.

"Not quite as serious anymore."

Emily raised an eyebrow.

"No?"

"No."

Margaret smiled knowingly.

"I think someone has been improving his mood."

Emily felt warmth creep into her cheeks.

"I'm pretty sure that's just because of the festival."

"If you say so."

---

Several hundred yards away...

Jonathan Mercer remained hidden among the trees overlooking the lake.

The younger hunter approached quietly.

"They found the dog."

"I know."

"What about the creature?"

Mercer slowly lowered his binoculars.

"It let the dog go."

"Why?"

"I don't know."

She frowned.

"Animals don't behave like that."

"No."

Mercer's expression remained thoughtful.

"They don't."

He looked back toward the search party moving through the woods.

"Which means..."

His voice trailed off.

"...whatever we're dealing with isn't behaving normally."

---

Far deeper in the forest...

The search party followed Ranger.

The old retriever no longer barked.

Instead, he moved carefully between the trees, stopping every few minutes to make sure the humans were still behind him.

Eventually...

The dog stopped altogether.

He sat down.

Whined softly.

And refused to go any farther.

Kael shined his flashlight ahead.

The beam caught something hanging from a low pine branch.

A strip of red fabric.

Ben stepped closer.

"That's..."

He reached out carefully.

"...Tommy's jacket."

The little boy's red windbreaker had torn on the branch.

Sheriff Reeves frowned.

"He came this far."

"He said he chased Ranger."

Noah looked around.

"There aren't any other tracks."

Kael slowly swept his flashlight across the forest floor.

Then he froze.

"What?"

Noah whispered.

Kael pointed.

Pressed into the soft earth...

Barely visible beneath a scattering of pine needles...

Were enormous paw prints.

Not dog.

Not bear.

Each print was larger than Kael's outstretched hand.

Ben swallowed hard.

"I've hunted these woods my whole life."

"I've never seen tracks like that."

Sheriff Reeves stared silently.

"What animal makes those?"

Kael didn't answer immediately.

Because he honestly didn't know.

They resembled wolf tracks.

But they were far too large.

Too deep.

As if whatever had made them weighed twice as much as any wolf ever could.

He slowly crouched beside the nearest print.

Fresh.

Only minutes old.

Then...

His head snapped toward the ridge above them.

He had heard it.

A single pebble rolling downhill.

Not an animal.

A footstep.

Someone...

Or something...

Was standing above them.

Watching.

"Lights."

Kael said quietly.

Everyone turned their flashlights toward the rocky hillside.

The beams swept across fallen logs...

Dense brush...

Towering pines...

Nothing.

Then Ben gasped.

"There!"

For less than a second...

A massive dark silhouette crossed between two trees at the top of the ridge.

Too tall to be a person.

Too upright to be a bear.

Before anyone could focus their lights...

It disappeared.

No crashing branches.

No running footsteps.

Just...

Gone.

The silence that followed was almost unbearable.

Sheriff Reeves looked slowly toward Kael.

Neither man spoke.

Neither needed to.

Both understood the same thing.

Whatever had been watching them...

Had wanted to be seen.

Only for a moment.

Only long enough to send a message.

The question was...

To whom?